Which Side Are You On ? February 11, 2013

Found this from 1979, an ad from the Fine Gael Trade Union Group urging Trade Union members all over Ireland to Vote Fine Gael.
Does such a group still exist? … …………….. Are many of the Trade Union Leadership members?

I know through work two people who were prominent in their trade unions and strong Fine Gaelers. One was a full time union official – not a union official now but a lifelong, in the blood, Fine Gaeler, holding a fairly senior elected position in the party. The second is retired now but was elected president of his union, having previously worked (full-time I think) for his local TD. The second was also an in the blood Fine Gaeler – he told me that there was always a picture of Michael Collins on the mantlepiece in his family home.
Both of these would be countrymen. I think it shouldn’t be that surprising that Fine Gaelers are found active in the unions. Remember FG historically got the vote of c30% of the people. Both of the chaps I know would be instinctive negotiators, bargainers, dealers – and if you are good at that you will have the support of your members.
I happened to be one of a particular group of workers who were represented by the second chap I mentioned above – and I am a materially richer man for it.

Surely that’s an historical legacy rooted in the broad acceptance across the ‘West’ (for want of a better term) of the post 1945 consensus and further rooted in a tepid ‘social democrat’ stream within FG under Fitzgerald’s influence, and such individuals have since receded into history? Would a mid-30s full time SIPTU official find the young generation of FGs a convivial bunch. I can’t see Eoghan Murphy or Lucinda being that warm towards someone whose job is to defend Croke Park, for instance.

One of the individuals I described has not “receded into history” – not yet anyway. He holds an elected position within the FG party nationally.
I take the point that the younger TDs are all anti-union right wing bastards.
Finally, I can confirm JRG’s point below that this (having a TU section or whatever they might call it) was a conscious decision in FG. Again, one of the two I know told me maybe 11 years ago that the FG party had given him a list of FG people “in the unions” to go after for the national draw or to get them active for an election or something.

When I started working in the post office shortly after this time the entire branch officers (with the exception of the Secretary who later joined the PDs) and branch committee were all members of Fine Gael. It took three years to root them out.

It had nothing to do with Fitzgerald’s crusade or social democracy or anything like that – some of these gangersters engaged in efforts to burn out local travellers from an unauthorised halting site – it had to do with a conscious decision by a section of Fine Gael to make inroads into the trade unions (they were more successful in some of the professional unions) because FF had a certain level of support, particularly among building workers and some of the craft unions.